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Bread rolls, dinner rolls or whatever you want to call it. T called it Roti Kosong (plain buns in Malay), a simple bread that I bake regularly for breakfast, usually eat with omelette, cheese, or peanut butter jam.

I also used it to make mini burger, deep-fried shrimp toast and other bread related dishes. I have baked this bread so many times that I can bake without flipping through my recipe book (oh ya, I have a "personal" recipe book recording all recipes I have tried). It is product of my experiments, finally I got it right in term of taste and texture. Thanks T for being my only guinea pig and food critic for so long.

I love this recipe, the bread stays soft and light the next two days. So far, I have used the same recipe to bake white loaf, cinnamon walnut and raisin loaf, individual bun with fillings and even doughnut! A quick note, for doughnut, I strongly recommend you guys to try this doughnut recipe posted on my blog.

The bread improver is a mixture of enzymes and, more often than not, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) which accellerate the fermenting action of the yeast, enabling a better quality of rise in, in effect, a shorter period of time.

The bread softener, more commonly referred to as the emulsifier, is an additive, for example lecithin (an extract from the soy bean), which binds with the water and fat in the dough, to stabilise the mixture. It improves crumb and the slicing behaviour of the bread, and enhances a sense of freshness', i.e. the springiness of the finished bread. (from yahoo!answer)

HI lYDIA,WHERE I AM staying (abu Dhabi), bread improver and softener are not not available. what are the options for me pls? thanks for all the nice and simple postings via yr blog. it is a new discovery for me and am enjoying it very much. love the photography work, too!

You can try to add some condensed milk (1-2 tbsp, omit sugar if sweetened condensed milk is used) as it contains softening properties. You may also use fresh milk instead of water for softer bread. Sorry that I don't know any option for bread improver.

Hi i understand that if the bread put the softener and improver is not good right? and improver just can last the bread few more days right?and can u tell me what brand of bread maker u use and also how long ur bread maker knead the dough and rest the dough in the bread maker?

Hi Lydia,I have been experimenting with doughnuts and have tried different recipes available in the net but all ends up with having tough crumbs after about 3hrs in room temp. The donuts of dunkin's stays soft even after 24hrs how do they do that. I would like to perfect the making of doughnuts as I am very much interested in selling them but how can I sell if they (doughnuts) turns tough and chewy after awhile. I have also tried using the softener and the improver but the results are just the same you can try and experiment. Please help. thanks.

I read somewhere, heavy (or chewy) bread is caused by over manipulation of bread dough. I always made my bread/doughnut with less manupulation and turned out alright.

Another thing I have tried is using water roux method and the bread stay soft for 2-3 days, without any bread softener added. Maybe you can try this method.

Try different brand of flour, if X brand did not turn out good, change to another brand. I don't know if this is true for where you are located but it is true for me. I can bake decent bread with flour bought from bakery supplies shop but not those selling at supermarket (too moist, sticky and heavy). It took me many months to realise it.

Last but not least, if you are keen to start doughnut business I would suggest you to attend bread making classes (professional) as there different methods and techniques for making bread/doughnut.

i tried this recipe, the bun is soft and nice. 9 buns seems not enough for my family consumption, may i know if want to do 1.5x more, should i just increase all ingredients to 1.5x? wondering is yeast also need to increase? please advise. rgsong

Lydia, thanks for your prompt reply. 1 more question from me, i see your bun shape is square, apparently the one i baked end up with round shape. I am using round baking pan, is it related to the baking pan shape? please advise. ong

Hello Lydia,If I use a stand mixer with a dough hook. Would it be possible if you can help me figure out how long should I run the kneading process before and after placing the butter/shortening. Thank you in advance. warm regards, Pam

My experience, 10mins+ but stop a few times to check the texture. It will be easier to knead if let the dough rest for a few minutes in between. Eg, knead 5 mins stop n cover with plastic wrap then continue to knead. Happy baking.

Hi Lydia, I have been looking all over the bread softener and bread improver from my local supermarket and website in the US; unfortunately, no luck at all. But I found there is a product called "DOUGH ENHANCER" in the US and i am wondering will it works as a substitute for the secret ingredient that you mentioned above? For more information of this Dough Enhancer please click in the following hyperlink:http://www.augasonfarms.com/Dough-EnhancerEveryday-Size-Can-UPC-00946-90900

Hi Brian,I think bread improver and softener are available only in Malaysia and Singapore. I couldn't find any in Australia too few years back. Had a look at the bread enhancer on google, I guess it has similar function of bread softener+improver, which improve the texture of the bread. Good luck and I would love to hear from you if you decided to try it out.

Hi Lydia, glad to hear from you and I am really appreciated. In fact, I already placed order for the Dough Enhancer after received your replied and comment. Of course, i will keep you inform of the result when i receive the package from the vendor. Thanks, Brian Nguyen